New Amorphis album

[Luoto]

What do you mean by this? I agree that it sounds very different from Amorphis these days, and that's actually what I love about it!

I mean it sounds TOO different, almost like a better fit for some solo project of Sande. It's very riff based and almost devoid of trademark Amorphis melody. Would'nt have been good taste to include it on the album, based on what else there is.

 

[Luoto]

Just noticed there's a contradiction concerning "A New Day" between the booklet and the Youtube album sampler. The booklet credits Esa for writing the song, while the sampler credits Santeri. Weird...

 

[koivusaari]

Just noticed there's a contradiction concerning "A New Day" between the booklet and the Youtube album sampler. The booklet credits Esa for writing the song, while the sampler credits Santeri. Weird...

Beside that, on mini cd it says Illusions while on box it says Illusion. There is also typo in lyrics of Enchanted by the Moon.

 

[Luoto]

There is also typo in lyrics of Enchanted by the Moon.

There are several lyrical mismatches in the booklet. They're probably some original translations and the final lines differ from those a little. It's not unusual that Amorphis can't be bothered to re-check them after recording

 

[Tiiti]

I have listen to Circle for a few times, and in the end, I like it more than I expected. In beginning of first news about Circle I was excited but somewhere before releasing I thought it might be not so good album. But it is.

Mission - When those short teasers in iTunesRus came, I said that this might be one of my favorities. Well, it is. Awesome.
The Wanderer – More i listen, more i like. First I heard only To/Die/For 'cause of that Tangra-guy, but now I really like it. I don’t know why, good boogie. Summer track, park and beer.
Narrow Path – Don’t like this at all. Where did this Irish thing came? Way too much Nightwish. Yeah, there is folky, but not skandinavian folky. Not bad as a song, but bad as a Amo-song.
Nightbird’s Song – Do I need to say something? I don’t even try to, you know.
A New Day – I’m not sure yet. There really is something and this song needs more listening times. I think I will love it.

Dead Man’s Dream – Whoohoo! One of my favorities! This would be so strong live track. There is something familiar at chours (but I don’t listen Hypocrisy what koivusaari mentioned, so it’s something else for me) but I don’t know what. This really kicks ass!
My Future – Why on earth they had to “hide” these songs? This is also magnificent. And we probable will never hear these played live... It lasts seven minutes, and there is none of them pointless or too much.
Illusions - Not so amazing that two earlier, but definitely one of the best

I understand the band wanted to do something new and different, but maybe there is a bit too much PT in the album. Or I just don’t find (enough) those things what I most like in Amorphis. But don’t get me wrong, I really like this album and I believe that this hold up more listening than TBOT. I just need time to get along with a new things.

 

[papajohnny]

I've finally listened to the album for several times - enough to form some sort of opinion. In general, it takes at least several weeks for an album to grow on me.

Nothing to say that already hasn't been said.

It's a fine album, better than TBOT, but not better than the previous 'triplet', even though it has some brilliant parts. .

One of the biggest problems with this album is that songs aren't listed in a right order - my attention always drops on The Wanderer (which is general a boring song), and I feel that In the Abyss drags on for a bit.
It took some time, but A New Day grew on me, but that last chorus is really dumb.
SOG is a hell of an opener, and an awesome song.
I love Mission and Enchanted. They are literally balancing the album, one near the beginning, other near the end, and both so good.
I have a somewhat ambivalent stance on Narrowpath. Bad? Hell no. But something is missing. I don't mind the Irish sound, since I like it in general, but I don't know. I bet it'll grow on me before I know it though.
I wasn't really enthralled by the Hopeless Days at first, but, oh, that piano or whatever that is during the chorus...
And Nightbird's Song. Most band never pull of a really great song during their careers, and Amo has been doing great stuff for more than 2 decades (with pauses )...but this. It's not the easiest song to get into, but once you do, it's over.
Please Amo, do more of this. MOAR


I still have to read the lyrics though. I'm probably the only member on the forum who still hasn't got this CD, so no verses for me yet. However, like I've said before, I think Pekka offered some better lyrics before.

In general, I like the album. It doesn't have a very strong concept, to be honest, but pure Kalevala stuff was getting a bit boring.

Perhaps the best thing is that Amo has shown that, although they still rely on it, are not in Kalevala's 'shackles' in any way, and can make a fine album which isn't fully based on an old, epic poem. The heavier sound is certainly a refreshment, and I hope they get even heavier - not make a full death metal album, but make some more heavy songs aka Nightbird.

Can't wait to hear the bonus stuff.

 

[xptrinity]

I'm probably the only member on the forum who still hasn't got this CD

No, you're not

 

[tuonelan]

Not at all the only one who doesn't have it. Still waiting in the US.

 

[season1234]

I mean it sounds TOO different, almost like a better fit for some solo project of Sande. It's very riff based and almost devoid of trademark Amorphis melody. Would'nt have been good taste to include it on the album, based on what else there is.

I disagree. The only part of the song devoid of the recent (trademark) Amorphis song is the intro/verse with the fast drum beat. The chorus has a typical (but excellent) Amorphis chorus and nice guitar melody over the chords, as does the mid section featuring a variation of the verse riff and the keyboard solo. So everything except the verse on this song smacks of Amorphis, and honestly I don't find the fast riff any more intense than the opening to Two Moons, which fit perfectly on an Amorphis record. If the band are going to place tracks as divergent as Nightbird's Song and A New Day on the same record, there was certainly room for this one!

I still have some concerns about the track order and the growls not being a bit more present on the 6 of the 9 tracks. I would have inserted Dead Man's Dream after the Wanderer and prior to Narrowpath (which is what i'm going to do for I-tunes playback)....the album desperately needs some aggression at this point in the album, to break up the 4 straight 'growl free' songs until we arrive at Nightbird's Song. The pummeling heaviness introduced on Shades of Gray is briefly touched on again in the Mission and Hopeless Days, but as Eurynome mentioned earlier - that 4 track sequence does not reinforce the statements that this is their heaviest record.

That being said..... Shades of Gray, Nightbird's Song and Enchanted By The Moon are definitely 3 of the heaviest songs (and best) the band has done. I don't believe their is a Joutsen era record with 3 full songs that reach this level of utter power and majesty, in terms of the songs being dominated by growls and the instrumental delivery.

 

[season1234]

Is anyone aware of a way to purchase the bonus tracks on-line? I have DMD but can't find the other 4 for purchase anywhere (tried to grab one on amazon japan but I can't figure out how to create an account there)! I'm assuming this means you are forced to buy the cd packages.

 

[xptrinity]

Even if you manage, most likely you will not be able to buy it. Tried it once with something from iTunes Finland and couldn't get it, because I didn't have a Finnish credit card.
All this regional shit has always perplexed me.

 

[papajohnny]

No, you're not

Not at all the only one who doesn't have it. Still waiting in the US.

Eh, but you two got your CDs on the way.

I won't be getting this any time soon.

 

[Red King]

I still have some concerns about the track order and the growls not being a bit more present on the 6 of the 9 tracks. I would have inserted Dead Man's Dream after the Wanderer and prior to Narrowpath (which is what i'm going to do for I-tunes playback)....the album desperately needs some aggression at this point in the album, to break up the 4 straight 'growl free' songs until we arrive at Nightbird's Song. The pummeling heaviness introduced on Shades of Gray is briefly touched on again in the Mission and Hopeless Days, but as Eurynome mentioned earlier - that 4 track sequence does not reinforce the statements that this is their heaviest record.

I couldn't agree more with this. Amorphis often talk about the song order of the albums being important to them, and I usually think they do an excellent job, but Circle throws me off a little bit in that regard. By the time I reach Wanderer, I feel like skipping straight to Nightbird's Song just because I'm already missing the sheer intensity that was Shades of Gray. You're absolutely right in saying that Dead Man's Dream placed after Wanderer would seriously make Circle a stronger album. I also felt the same way about Separated and Skyforger.

 

[tuonelan]

Haven't listened yet...being patient and waiting for the CDs to arrive so that I can have a proper first listening ritual...but is the song order this time more driven by Pekka's storyline as a proper concept album?

 

[season1234]

I couldn't agree more with this. Amorphis often talk about the song order of the albums being important to them, and I usually think they do an excellent job, but Circle throws me off a little bit in that regard. By the time I reach Wanderer, I feel like skipping straight to Nightbird's Song just because I'm already missing the sheer intensity that was Shades of Gray. You're absolutely right in saying that Dead Man's Dream placed after Wanderer would seriously make Circle a stronger album. I also felt the same way about Separated and Skyforger.

Agreed. Separated was clearly better than a few tracks that made the cut for Skyforger (although it's still one of my favorite Amorphis albums). This is becoming a trend...I was not too thrilled with the track order on TBOT as well.

 

[Luoto]

but is the song order this time more driven by Pekka's storyline as a proper concept album?

No, in an interview prior to the release they told only the first and last tracks on the album proper are in the correct chronological positions. As an example, Into the Abyss should probably be somewhere on the first half if that was the case (encounter with this ancient "guide").

 

[tuonelan]

No, in an interview prior to the release they told only the first and last tracks on the album proper are in the correct chronological positions. As an example, Into the Abyss should probably be somewhere on the first half if that was the case (encounter with this ancient "guide").

Cool, thanks.

 

[Eurynome]

One of the biggest problems with this album is that songs aren't listed in a right order - my attention always drops on The Wanderer (which is general a boring song)

I still have some concerns about the track order and the growls not being a bit more present on the 6 of the 9 tracks. I would have inserted Dead Man's Dream after the Wanderer and prior to Narrowpath (which is what i'm going to do for I-tunes playback)....the album desperately needs some aggression at this point in the album, to break up the 4 straight 'growl free' songs until we arrive at Nightbird's Song.

I couldn't agree more with this. Amorphis often talk about the song order of the albums being important to them, and I usually think they do an excellent job, but Circle throws me off a little bit in that regard. By the time I reach Wanderer, I feel like skipping straight to Nightbird's Song just because I'm already missing the sheer intensity that was Shades of Gray. You're absolutely right in saying that Dead Man's Dream placed after Wanderer would seriously make Circle a stronger album. I also felt the same way about Separated and Skyforger.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels this way. I mean, it could have been just me not grasping the artistic concept, but it really has helped me to get more out of the album by modifying the sequence (see my earlier post). Placed between DMD and Illusion, Wanderer makes much more sense to me. A song like this is better used for contrasting/balancing heaviness than for further emphasizing what is already a (too) long mellow stretch.

I think Pekka offered some better lyrics before.

I agree. Or to differentiate a bit, what's good on this album is the nature imagery, particularly in Shades of Grey, but also in some lines of e.g. NS, EBTM and DMD. The psychological stuff, on the other hand, is pretty shallow. After Reformation, I would have expected more, but if I remember correctly, Reformation started out as one of Pekka's personal poems rather than under pressure to come up with some sort of story. Don't know, maybe I was just hoping for more identification potential. I can find some in ITA and EBTM, though. Hopefully some day also in AND, the same way as Black River depicted my feelings in autumn 2007. Oh damn, auntie is waxing nostalgic...

I disagree. The only part of the song devoid of the recent (trademark) Amorphis song is the intro/verse with the fast drum beat. The chorus has a typical (but excellent) Amorphis chorus and nice guitar melody over the chords, as does the mid section featuring a variation of the verse riff and the keyboard solo. So everything except the verse on this song smacks of Amorphis, and honestly I don't find the fast riff any more intense than the opening to Two Moons, which fit perfectly on an Amorphis record. If the band are going to place tracks as divergent as Nightbird's Song and A New Day on the same record, there was certainly room for this one!

I feel just the same. And thanks for the Two Moons comparison, which fits perfectly. I remember vividly how I sat at my brother's desk (visiting my parents over the holidays), listening to the intro for the very first time and thinking, what's this, it doesn't sound like Amorphis at all! The rest of the song did, though, and I still think it's one of their best album openers ever. It's also one of my favorite tracks on Eclipse, which says a lot. DMD just confirms my personal notion (matter of taste, of course), that Amorphis sound best when they don't stick to their own formula too closely, not that I would want them to completely abandon it.

Is anyone aware of a way to purchase the bonus tracks on-line? I have DMD but can't find the other 4 for purchase anywhere (tried to grab one on amazon japan but I can't figure out how to create an account there)! I'm assuming this means you are forced to buy the cd packages.

I also tried to register with Amazon Japan, but to no avail. Knowing how to spell my name in Japanese and with the generous help of Google Translate, I got as far as to the Billing Address page, which unfortunately only accepts addresses within Japan. I was therefore happy to find the song on Spotify after all, but now I wonder, do they have a country restriction as well? The ads I see on Spotify are strictly targeted at Finnish listeners, so I wouldn't be all too surprised if they, too, offer different bonus tracks in different regions. Besides, I have no idea in which countries Spotify is available to begin with. Who of you guys outside of the Nordic countries is able to use it?

 

[Brother_Moon1]

how about a poll,concerning our favorite tracks?i think would be interesting,what do you think guys?

 

[Luoto]

The only change I'd make into the track order is a swap between Hopeless Days and Nightbird's Song. That way it would just flow better.

how about a poll,concerning our favorite tracks?i think would be interesting,what do you think guys?

From what I've observed, there are three clear standout tracks among this forum (SoG, Mission, Nightbird). Most interesting poll configuration would probably be to divide the album in two, though we could still include the standard one.